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The blog for the Student Development & Outreach team at City University LondonThu, 14 Dec 2017 02:06:23 +0000enhourly1http://wordpress.com/https://s2.wp.com/i/buttonw-com.pngcitySDOhttps://citysdo.wordpress.com
Bryan Steelhttps://citysdo.wordpress.com/2014/07/21/bryan-steel/
https://citysdo.wordpress.com/2014/07/21/bryan-steel/#respondMon, 21 Jul 2014 14:06:21 +0000http://citysdo.wordpress.com/2014/07/21/bryan-steel/]]>ANOTHER LIFE

Former British athlete Bryan Steel was stumped when asked “had you not become an athlete what do you think you would be doing?” Steel was stumped he had no idea what he would be doing and came to the conclusion that he would either be working in his families car business or “in lots of trouble” , which is an assumption that his teachers came to.

Bryan told us that he used to get into trouble in school because he didn’t enjoy it also due to his dyslexia he found it hard to work in school because he just couldn’t understand. However it seems that his competitive streak didn’t come from school as he says “because I was left handed my hand eye coordination was terrible”. Steel also told us that he hated sports at school, so when asked “if you could of done any other sport what would you be doing “ his response was running as he told us that he had ran a couple of marathons and had “half decent times”. Steel also continued with saying that he would never do anything with a ball, but he would prefer to do “just cycling”.

Steel was later asked what his biggest regret was and told us that he was messing around and broke his collar bone and couldn’t play in the common wealth games. Four years later it then had to be re-broke, he later went on to tell us “he felt a bit stupid”.

Chloe Dixon

MAN OF STEEL

Bryan Steel a two time Olympic medallist admits to breaking his collarbone a few weeks before a Commonwealth Games by ‘fooling around’.

Bryan, who is now happily retired in his home in Mansfield, admits that his happy to finally retire and settle down.

Bryan who is one of Britain’s most decorated cyclists says that his school expected him to be a ‘failure’ in life after only finishing school with one qualification.

He admits to many other mischievous events such as one at his first ever Commonwealth Games, which ended in total embarrassment.

Bryan, who also suffers from dyslexia, admits that without cycling his life would be a big disappointment. Bryan admits to being ‘scared’ of where he would be today without the success of his cycling career.

Brandon Smith

“BE THE BEST YOU CAN BE”

Bryan Steel is an Olympic cyclist from Nottingham who has previously been one of Britain’s top track riders for over a decade and been an important member of The British Team pursuit Squad contributing to their continued success over the last few years.

Bryan’s international career began in 1990 where he represented England in the Commonwealth Games

Information about Bryan Steel:

He travels on 60 planes a year.

He’s caused a bike crash, and also broke a bone doing a wheelie down the road.

Not much people disagreed with him being a cyclist.

Sports give young people a variety of different skills.

Bryan Steel was 14 when he started cycling, he also thought about giving up cycling all the time because it was too tiring.

Apart from cycling, Bryan likes running.

Bryan has developed a range of programs which inspire and motivate people into more positive activities, which will maximise their true potential.

He purchased a bike, didn’t know how to ride it, but ended up loving it.

Quotes: “Be the best you can be (Today/Tomorrow)

Bryan Steel’s idol is Muhammad Ali.

Mohammed Salem

BRYAN STEEL

Bryan Steel, Olympic Cyclist Champion, is now retired. He now reminisces about the amazing experiences he had encountered while in sport. He told us about how he got into the field of sport through his childhood stories, where he informed us about the struggles and obstacles he had to overcome during school. One major piece of information he told us was that he had problems trying to read, stumbling upon his condition of dyslexia at an early age. He was already not a fan of being in school, he said that “I got into trouble a lot in school, I just hated being in education because it doesn’t help you experience the world.” He left school without any major qualifications to assist him with his career, mostly due to the fact he couldn’t read or write and simply did not enjoy school.

It just comes to show that school is important but not everyone can go through school with excellent GCSE’s. Now we see that Bryan ended up as an Olympic Champion, due to expressing his talents and professionalism through cycling even though Bryan was not an academic.

He still is continuing to work in sport through an anti-drugs charity, DARE, where he helps support young people develop their key skills that they will need for life; to experience the world instead of sitting examinations and being limited to what we all can learn without using books.

He would have ended up working for his parent’s family company which meant he would have been in the field of mechanics or engineering mainly with cars. He admitted that if he didn’t find cycling at the age of fourteen and his father didn’t buy him his first bike, he his life would have taken a turn for the worst and he would have probably ended up in prison for causing so much trouble in his adolescent segment of his life. By becoming a cyclist at the age of seventeen or eighteen, it was the most important event of his entire career, thanks to his father and his older brother for introducing him to sports.

“Be the best you, can be tomorrow than you were today. That way you’ll improve.” – Bryan Steel

Rin Nguyen

“BE THE BEST YOU CAN BE” – Bryan steel

No qualifications but one of the most successful man in Britain. He was 14 when he started cycling and said if it wasn’t for cycling and his dad buying him a bike he would most probably be in prison because he didn’t like school and often got into a lot of trouble.

At the age of 17 he went on to join the junior cycling team and followed on to join the senior cycling team at 18. Bryan’s first ever Olympic game was at the age of 21. In the 2000 Sydney Olympics Bryan won his first Olympic medal coming in third place. Bryan quotes “ My bronze medal means more to me than my silver.”

Steel won his silver medal just 4 years later in the Athens 2004 Olympics. Bryan also quotes “training was very hard, I would train about 50 hours a week I often thought about giving up cycling”

Bryan said his favourite motivational saying is “ Being the best you can be”

Bobbie Duffy

LIFE OF A BRITISH CYCLIST

Bryan Steel was a former Olympic cyclist for Great Britain, has won a bronze and a silver medal in the Olympics.

Bryan Steel an Olympic medallist, had a lot of problems with school because he had a condition called dyslexia, this created difficulties for Bryan because of this condition he found it hard to read. Bryan did not like school so he started to cause problems in school and at home. In the interview Bryan steel told me “I hated school because I found it hard to learn because of dyslexia” but Bryan still studied car mechanics and got apprenticeship for car mechanics.

Bryan Steel started his career by watching his older brother which was a cyclist. Bryan Steel farther brought him a bike and told him to try it out. Bryan quoted that “even though my brother inspired me but without my dad I would have not started my cycling career”. The local bike shop owner also inspired him because every Sunday he would have taken the children in the area and taught them how to ride a bike. The shop owner told Bryan that he has a special talent, Bryan said “that moment I realised that I wanted to become a cyclist”. Bryan will to win had increased due to jealousy because at his first Olympic event his fellow team mate won a gold medal. Bryan quoted “that made me really jealous and I needed to win an Olympic medal”

Umut Tato

STEEL HITS AGAIN

Bryan Steel, suffered a severe injury when trying to show off doing a wheelie on the road, resulting in breaking his collarbone which hindered him greatly as he dropped out of the commonwealth games. It then re broke 4 years later, a metal plate then inserted which he now has no problem adjusting to.

His cycling career lasted for a period of time with intense training throughout which included 4-6 hours of training a day with the hours decreasing as the intensity increased. Steel would spend around 6 months cycling around the world to countries such as Australia, Sydney and Italy however he never ventured to Russia

“Disinfected person, hated school, left handed, dyslexia” Byran Steel is an Olympic and World champion medallist for cycling, who retired at the age of 35 and is now running his own company.

Carrie Hua

“DO YOUR BEST TODAY AND BE YOUR BEST TOMORROW” – Bryan Steel

My dad bought it for me when I was 14

My wife is a good cook.

When I was 14 years old I start cycling and at 17 I get to Olympic at 18 I made my title.

My shoulder injured in 2002.

My favourite place is Australia.

I didn’t cry when I got medal but I cried in the toilet.

My favourite colour is blue.

I got two medals silver and bronze if you want to touch it tell me.

My brother helped me to get to Olympics.

Tayab Husseini

IF HIS DAD DIDN’T INSPIRE HIM HE WOULDN’T BE WHERE HE IS TODAY!

Bryan Steel is an Olympic medallist. When Bryan was at school he suffered from dyslexia and was unable to see the colour red as well as other colours. This affected him in later life.

Bryan Steel competed in his first Olympics at twenty one. From there he went on to compete in many commonwealth games and Olympics, winning a bronze and a silver medal. Steele did fifty hours of training every week. He had a strict diet and was under a lot of pressure. He described as his training as “very painful” and “hard work but worth it”. His trainers pushed him very hard and he said that “All they care about is Olympic medals”

For Bryan Steel cycling was the only sport for him. As a retired Olympian he now runs a lot and competes in many half marathons.

Katie Avis

MAN OF STEEL

Bryan Steel former Team GB Olympian is now retired and is now continuing his work in sport through his anti-drugs charity, Dare.

Bryan told us about his childhood problems and his time at school. He mentioned having dyslexia from an early age, causing him to have problems in school. He found it hard to read and write and distinguish different colours. These problems did not allow him to enjoy his school, he said “I got into a lot of trouble at school, I hated it” even till today he has trouble reading and writing. Because he had dyslexia he ended up not getting any qualifications at the end of his school year, however, he did get an apprenticeship as a mechanic.

Since he wasn’t such a success at school and got in so much trouble, his father got him to watch his older brother cycle at the park. After a few weeks of just staring at his older brother cycle, his father got him his first bicycle. He was rubbish at it at first; he said “I hated it because I wasn’t good at it”. After tiresome weeks of struggling, Bryan finally was able to master it and began to like it. He told us that he started to cycle at the age of 14.

He began to enjoy cycling even more and decided to continue it and take it as a career. He started to cycle professionally at the age of 17 for Team GB. He then got into his first Olympic race at the age of 21. Since then his life has changed.

Christian Cocha Guerra

OLYMPIC STAR IN PRISON?

“If it wasn’t for sports I’d probably be in prison, because of sports I’m here right now”, says the Olympic silver medallist Bryan Steel.

Bryan tells a group of young journalists how sports has brought him to the right path. “I got into a lot of trouble when I was at school.” Bryan was a ‘little trouble maker’ in school, in one of his school reports his teacher wrote that at one point in his life he will be in prison. However Bryan went on and proved all his teachers wrong as he got into cycling and became silver medallist.

Bryan got into cycling when he was 14, “my father bought me my first bike which probably started it all”, Bryan went to watch all his brothers’ races which inspired him, and his father bought him his first mike which started him off. Ironically Brian hated sports whilst he was in school and was rubbish at cycling for about three years, however couple of years later Bryan won his bronze medal for cycling in Sydney.

“If I wasn’t going to win clean, then I’m not going to win it all.” The Olympic star Bryan is so against drug use in sports that he is the UK anti-dope ambassador. Cycling being a popular sport to use drugs in Bryan thinks it’s his duty as a former Olympic star to get the point across that those using drugs to win a match is not winning at all.

Masuma Begum

“IF IT WASN’T FOR SPORTS I’D PROBABLY BE IN PRISON”

Bryan Steel, Olympic medallist, retired at the age of 35. From a young age, Bryan Steel found school very challenging and difficult due to his dyslexia.

“If it wasn’t for sports I’d probably be in prison” He told a group of young journalists this morning. He left school with no qualifications but has become very successful. Bryan’s life could’ve taken a turn for the worst while he was in school as he was seen as a ‘little trouble maker’ by all the teachers.

“Be the best you can be today but be better tomorrow” This is one of the quotes that motivates Bryan the most as it pushes him to do better.

Sara Beshira

BRONZE OVER SILVER

“Sports made me the person I am”. Strong words from Bryan Steel who revealed that he “hated school and hated sports”. Bryan Steel winner of 2 Olympic medals spoke highly of his career as an athlete and when asked said that he felt prouder of achieving his bronze medal than of his silver as “to get a silver you have to lose gold” and when asked of his biggest achievement he spoke of one ride in Manchester during the world cup and called it “the perfect ride” he described it as “being in a bubble”. Bryan said he had no regrets but if pushed he told of a time when he was “messing around doing wheelies” he broke his collar bone therefore causing his to pull out of his next race.

Bryan says “I like running now “ but after questions of whether he would pursue it any further he said no he didn’t believe he was all that good. Now Bryan spends his time with his daughter “she’s only 8 at the moment and she sits on a bike really well”. Is it possible we have another cyclist that will steal an Olympic medal? Sarah Warren

“SPORTS MADE ME THE PERSON I AM”

“Sport made me the person I am”. Bryan Steel claims that sport has had a major impact on his life and how it affected his life positively.

Bryan steel is an Olympic cyclist from Nottingham, who is now a retired cyclist and runs his own charity event (DARE). Bryan Steel suffered from dyslexia so therefore he hated school and was demotivated with his education. Here is brief background information about Bryan Steel:

Has two Olympic medals, Silver and Bronze medal.

At the age of 14 he started riding bikes and started off bad at it and after he ended up loving it.

At 17 he joined the junior team

At Age of 18 he joined the senior team.

Favourite bike “Moder Finale”, He also sponsors it currently.

Bryan Steel also reveals his idol which happens to be the great boxer “Muhammad Ali” and says he was frozen while shaking his hand which made him look like a freak.

When Bryan Steel won his silver medal, during the medal ceremony he betted with his teammates of who will cry first and the person who cries first will pay for the beers as a result the cycling team was competitive enough to not cry so therefore the coach who was in tears had to pay for the beers which cost £500.

Zunaira Majeed, is a charming student that works at City University London however, she has only been here for a brief amount of two years. We asked her what it is like to be a student in City University London.

Zunaira Majeed got her job by having to be interviewed, which she quotes “was a very thorough process.”

Nevertheless, she still succeeded in getting her job.

The job of student ambassador involves lots of interesting things, such as campus tours, talking about university life and last but not least, helping out on visit days.

Tariq Kunwar is in his third year of university; he is doing a degree in Economics. He is 21 and lives in Greenford, West London with his parents and sister. He originally comes from Pakistan (Lahore).

What do you do as a student ambassador?

I like to give tours and also to help out with open days as well as helping visitors. Part of it is to share my experiences with young students about higher education.

What do you most like about university?

What I like about university is that you meet different people from different cultures. Also, I get to sleep in the lectures which to be honest are sometimes boring.

What do you find most interesting about university?

I find the Economics society club and the football team fascinating. The university is currently building an 8 million pounds sports centre.

Where do you want to travel?

I would want to travel to the Middle East,Dubai. In particular I want to see the Burj al Khaifa, which is the tallest building in the world.

Niresha, born in South London and 21 years old, is a law student and in her third year. Niresha has also danced in the 2012 Olympic ceremony, a once in a lifetime opportunity. Brave and full of adventure, she has completed the tallest bungee jump in the world.

Why did you choose this University?

I chose this University because I wished to remain in London and my friend chose and applied for this University too. The City University of London is great for studying Law and human rights.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

In my spare time I like watching movies and listening to music.

Have you done any Work experience before?

Yes, in fact I have worked in a human rights firm in South Africa for 5 weeks last summer and a refugee centre in London. My dream job is to work in the UN (United Nations).

When you were young what did you want to be when you were older?

When I was young I wanted to be a window cleaner or to work in the circus.

When you finish University what are your future hopes?

My future hopes is to become a human rights solicitor, which is why I am studying law right now.

What were your A Level results?

I studied English Literature, Philosophy and Biology. When I finished my A Levels I received 2 A’s and a B. Although when I was younger my favourite subject was sports in Primary school.

Do you have any siblings?

I have a sister who is 24 years old. She is studying medicine at the moment and hopefully will soon become a doctor.

Maryam Farooqi works as a study ambassador whilst studying law. She was born on 28 April 1995 which makes her 18 years old. Her parents were born in France and Pakistan. Despite the fact, that she was young she wanted to study law. Now she is older she is studying law.

What inspired you to study law?

‘When I was younger I watched lots of TV shows that involved crimes scenes and what police does.’

Why did you go to this university?

‘Because my brother used to come to this university andtold me all about it and said he liked it, so I decide to come here.’

Karishma has been a student ambassador for two years at the City University in London. She is 21 years old and came to the university interested in studying Economics and is now the president of the photography society.

Why did you want to become a student ambassador at this university?

I really like helping and meeting new people, I also love kids and its fun to talk to them. Another reason is because I tried out City University for an open day and saw the brilliant career services and I wanted a degree and a good job.

What course did you do and why?

I studied Economics because I wanted to know how things work and also because of my A levels. In secondary school I was really good at Economics, I have learnt a lot since so I decided to take it as my degree.

What’s your hobby?

Art, travelling and photography. However, I really like astronomy and taking photos of the stars and the galaxy, it’s very fascinating and I am really good at it but I wouldn’t consider it as a career choice.

Why did you take up photography as a hobby?

I took photography because from a young age I was really passionate about it so I took it as a hobby. Although I have turned my hobby into a job and currently I am the president of the photography society I am also teaching others to be great photographers too.

What’s your favourite sport?

Badminton, it’s a really good sport although in my spare time I go out to play football with my friends but I do other sports as well just not as much.

If you could visit any country what would it be?

Japan, I visited it last time and it was spectacular. Also I like Thailand for all its aspects, it’s beautiful. Although I have loved Japan since I was a child and watched Japanese cartoons and I still do.

John Mills, 20 years, is a student ambassador studying journalism at City University London. He was born in Birmingham, 1994. We interviewed him and found a very entertaining and fun person inside him.

What inspired you to study journalism?

When I was younger my dad used to read The Sun newspaper. When he finished reading he gave it to me and told me to read between the lines.

What are your hobbies?

In my spare time I like to read. My favourite books are The Autobiography of Malcolm X and 1984. I really enjoyed reading Malcolm X because the author touches upon everything in the book. Also I enjoy listening to music and jogging because I find it keeps me calm. I enjoy rapping to some of my favourite songs too. I am also working towards studying Arabic so I can communicate with some of my Arabian friends and hopefully read the Quran.

What does studying journalism involve?

It involves writing and working to deadlines. It also involves me using lots of media and having great skills in group work. Sometimes it involves me having to tutor some people studying journalism and helping them with their GCSE’s.

What do you like and dislike about your job?

The best thing about my job is that I can see the world from a different light and work with other people with different cultures and who I have never worked with before. What I dislike about my job is that the deadlines are very short notices.

What did you want to be when you were younger and what are your future hopes?

When I was younger I always wanted to be a lawyer. My future hopes are to become a lecturer and musician.

Georgia Skupinski, who is currently in her second year at City University London, studies

international politics. Her supportive family live in Leicestershire, which is out of London, and she lives in Kingston with her friends. We asked her about her student life in City University London, which she enjoys.

What did you want to be when you were young?

I wanted to be an actress, because it looked fun when people were on film. Sadly, I discovered that it would be too much work.

What inspired you to learn about international politics?

Since I gave up acting, I decided I wanted to really understand what being a politician involves.

Why did you come to City University London?

Because I like living in London and my friend suggested City University London as they had good reviews. For example: they achieved 5 stars from Ofsted.

What are your hobbies and what do you do in your spare time?

My hobbies are running, reading and finally cheerleading (captain of Varsity). In my spare time I visit my family and friends, study and explore London, I really like the houses, tourist’s attractions and the little cafes. Last summer (during the holidays), I volunteered to build houses in America because they got destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

What time do you wake up?

Normally, when there are early lectures, I wake up at 7am. However, there are lectures at 1pm; therefore I can wake up later.

What it is like to be a politician in training?

At university, you can only choose 1 subject. So, seeing as I had only one choice, I decided to go with international politics, which is now my life long goal.

Aurelia Seidlholfer has been studying Journalism for 3 years. As a journalist, Aurelia likes books and newspapers. Her inspiration to become a journalist was books and children. The books that she read marvelled her.

These are the questions and answers to my queries.

!at inspired you to become an ambassador?

I like children. And also teaching children journalism. This is a great opportunity for them to understand journalism. I personally think it is a great topic to study on.

What is your home country?

The country I was born in was Austria-Salzburg. 24thJuly, 1990.I am 23 years old.

What are your favourite books and genres?

My favourite book is called Angela’s Ashes. I do not like horror, but my favourite genres are: French and romantic.

Why did you choose City University London to study in?

I absolutely enjoy studying in London. I like big cities, and most of all, City University London has a great reputation for journalism.

What did you want to become when you were young?

I always loved books and complicated words. That is why I wanted to become a writer. But after, I realised that it is a long, hard job so I am now studying for journalism.